


la Ville Lumière

by ForMyOwn



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Eventual Romance, Everyone Is Gay, F/M, Fluff and Humor, Hawkmoth doesn't have the peacock miraculous, Humor, Marinette is GAY, Mild Language, Multi, Or maybe fast to update, Original Character(s), Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Post-Reveal Adrien Agreste/Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Sexual Humor, Slow To Update, Teenage Dorks, Who Knows?, a bit of angst, all around shenanigans, basically all fluff, of course there's gonna be sexual humor, they're teenagers for pete's sake
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-13
Updated: 2018-11-04
Packaged: 2019-03-28 22:44:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 16,672
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13913727
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ForMyOwn/pseuds/ForMyOwn
Summary: After years away from the city of lights, Victoria and her father move into the house her estranged grandfather left her. Adjusting to city life is difficult, especially when said city has their own set of superheroes to save the day. A mysterious chest of family heirlooms shoves Vi into the role of a protector of Paris. Dealing with newfound powers and a couple of crushes on fellow heroes seems to be too much for her to handle.





	1. New Beginnings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Victoria and her father are finally in Paris after years away, and this time in the house her grandfather left her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is my first fanfic! I normally do original stories on Wattpad, but I thought I'd try out some fan stuff for once. It's gonna be slow for the first two or three chapters, then it'll pick up speed.

“Here it is.”

Victoria took a deep breath and looked at her dad. “Yup,” she said, giving him a small smile.

He grinned, pushing up his glasses and swiping some of his pale blonde hair out of his eyes. A key was sitting on his open palm. “Would you like to do the honors?” he asked, bowing theatrically.

She laughed and took the key, glancing at the pale blue house once more before stepping up to unlock the door. It turned smoothly, unlatching with an audible click, then swung open. Vi crossed the threshold into their new home with a smile.

The foyer had a high ceiling and cool tiles underfoot that went into a main living room. The modestly decorated place had a comfortable feeling as she walked further in, setting her suitcase down. Poking her head in a doorway, she saw a nice kitchen and stairs leading up the back of the house. There were more stairs in the living room, as well.

“What do you think?” her dad asked, snapping her out of her exploration for a moment. “The old man had some good taste, for what it’s worth.”

“I love it,” Victoria replied. “Why are there two sets of stairs?” she asked.

He pointed at the ones in the living room. “Those lead to the second level with two bedrooms.” Pointing to the kitchen, he said, “Those are to the third level, the large attic space where your mom had her room. I had Amelie put your boxes and bedframe up there, since I thought you might like it best...”

Giving a small nod, she made her way through the kitchen and up the stairs. Her feet seemed to float as her mind came to the surreal conclusion that her mother used to walk those very stairs every day. A door at the top was left open.

Finally seeing the room was a dream. It spanned the entire length of the house and was empty of everything but boxes of her stuff and her unmade bed. Two large windows were at both ends, slanted with the roof. There was even a balcony off the back that had access to the roof. Overall, Victoria felt like crying.

~*~

“Vi, Amelie is here!” her dad yelled up the stairs.

Victoria shot up from her bed where she had been unpacking and raced down the steps. She caught sight of her aunt from behind, who was leaning on the kitchen countertop leisurely.

Amelie turned around at the sound of the teenager’s footsteps, a smile lighting up her face.

“Mon ange!” Her arms were open to eagerly catch Vi in a tight bear hug.

“Hi!” Victoria said excitedly. “Did you bring Louis?”

Her aunt let go and pouted. “Did you forget you were in Paris?” she asked in French.

Rolling her eyes, Victoria made the switch easily. “No! Donne-moi mon chat!”

As if on command, a large black cat leapt easily onto the counter, purring as he rubbed his face on his owner. Victoria squealed happily and hugged the cat close to her. The fat feline loved the attention, his loud purring echoing around the kitchen.

“Victoria, I see you’ve found that fat menace,” her dad said, leaning against the doorframe. “I also see my horrible sister failed to bring sweets like she promised.”

Amelie raised her hands defensively. “I promised no such thing,” she said. “Besides, there’s a bakery just down the street. I’m sure your lovely daughter wouldn’t be opposed to seeing the city for a bit.”

Victoria spoke up before her dad could say no. “I’ll go! I’m sick of sitting in my room anyway,” she said, scratching Louis’ head once more.

“We’ve hardly been here three hours, mon ange,” her dad said, shaking his head good humoredly. With mock reluctance, he took out his wallet and gave her a few bills. “Get enough for us three. Whatever you think looks good.”

“Directions?” she asked, hopping excitedly from foot to foot.

“Down the street,” Amelie said. “Go out to the right, follow the street on the left, and there will be the bakery right at the corner there next to the school.”

She nodded, kissing her dad and aunt on their cheeks before dashing out the door into the warm sunny day.

~*~

A small bell rang above Victoria’s head as she walked into the quaint bakery. The sound caught the attention of a girl Victoria’s age leaning on the counter.

“Hello!” the girl said cheerfully. “Welcome to Tom & Sabine Boulangerie Patisserie!”

Victoria gave a little smile and moved further in, savoring the smell of baked goods. “Hi there,” she said, waving lightly. “I’m Victoria. My dad and I just moved in down the street.”

“Nice to meet you,” the girl replied. “I’m Marinette. Did you come just for introductions or-”

Vi shook her head, standing there a bit awkwardly with her hands clasped in front of her. “No, I was sent to get something sweet,” she said. Marinette looked at her expectantly. After a moment of strange silence, Victoria stammered. “O-oh! Sorry,” she said sheepishly. She glanced at the display case while Marinette giggled into her hand. “Um, everything looks pretty good.”

“A new face!”

A man walked into the storefront with a tray of fresh rolls. “Welcome to our humble shop,” he said, putting an arm around Marinette’s shoulders and holding out a hand for Vi to shake. “I’m Tom, and you must have met my daughter.”

She gave him a shy smile, shaking his hand. “Yeah- I mean yes, I have,” Vi said, trying to be more polite. “My dad and I moved in earlier today and were looking for sweets.”

Tom laughed heartily. “There are plenty of those here,” he said. “Anything in particular?”

Victoria went to answer, but Marinette appeared with a box of baked goods. She hadn’t even noticed the girl had left.

“Free of charge,” Marinette said, holding it out for her.

“I really couldn’t-”

Tom interrupted her protests by saying, “Think of it as a welcome to the neighborhood.”

Too shy to argue, she let out a meek ‘merci’ and scampered out the door. Once she was free of the bakery and far too friendly people, Vi let out a relieved sigh. She made her way quickly back to her new home, eager to push down the anxiety that simple interaction caused her.

~*~

Vi stood in front of the wardrobe with her hands on her hips. She had been trying to pry the ornate piece of furniture open for nearly five minutes, to no avail.

“Come on!”

Another try proved just as futile as the other fifty.

At that moment, her dad knocked on the door to her room, coming in right as she went to try again.

“You might want this first,” her dad said, holding up a small key and strolling over to her.

Vi huffed and swiped the key from him. She hadn’t noticed the keyhole under the aged handles before. The key turned surprisingly smooth in the lock, allowing the doors to swing open silently.

In the bottom of the wardrobe was a small wooden chest in the same style. She gave her dad a confused look, to which he shrugged in response.

“Should we open it?” she asked.

“It’s your wardrobe, mon ange,” he replied.

She rolled her eyes, and pulled the surprisingly heavy thing onto the floor. It was about a foot and a half long, and unwieldy to hold even for a moment. When she tried to open it, it was locked like before. Before her dad could say anything, she used the same small key to unlock the thick wooden lid. Vi looked up at her dad, unsure.

“What are you waiting for?” he asked impatiently. “You want to know what’s inside just as much as I do!”

Vi laughed, then cracked open the lid.

The contents were covered in a soft cloth with a folded up letter on top. She picked up the letter and read the slanted cursive on the front.

“ _A mon cher Victoria_ ,” she said, getting more comfortable on the floor where she sat.

“Is it from your grandfather?” her dad asked, dragging her desk chair over to sit beside her. “I didn’t think he’d leave anything physical for you. Well, aside from the house.” He peered over her shoulder, unable to read the letter from his point of view. “Well?”

She glanced up. “Well what?”

He gestured to the letter. “Read it to me!”

Victoria sighed dramatically. “ _Fine_ , if I must.” She cleared her throat and began,

“My dear Victoria,

I’m afraid that my years are catching up with me, and not only my body. With this unfaltering passage of time, I’ve come to realize that there is much for me to do yet.

Lately I’ve been thinking of all the wrongs I did, to you and to your mother. Despite the tension between your mother and I, I’ve adored you since I first held you as an infant. Josette knew as much. Did you know that she had always sent me pictures of you, even when she herself would never speak to me? All the way across the ocean, your papa was watching you turn into a fine young lady. From what I’ve seen, I couldn’t be prouder.

Doubtless your father is confused that I would leave you the house I had banned you three from ever entering. I have my reasons, as I have my reasons for leaving you these heirlooms. Keep them close to your heart, as each have their own story.

Forever yours,

Papa”

The two sat in quiet for a moment, the contents of the letter sinking in. Her father was the first to break their momentary silence.

“Wow. I didn’t realize the old man cared for you like that,” he said.

Victoria nodded absently; she was pulling the cloth out of the way to look at the heirlooms her papa had left her. Her dad was still chattering away, but she wasn’t really listening. Instead, she was staring at a blue brooch near the top of the neatly stacked pile of old things. Vi moved wrapped up pieces of silverware to the side and grabbed the brooch.

It seemed to come alive in her hands. There was no noticeable difference in how it looked, it just... _felt_ alive. The cool metal was warmed by the heat of her hands as she turned it over and over. No amount of inspection, she felt, would explain the draw she had towards it. She idly thought that the design looked like a peacock’s feathers.

“Victoria?”

Her dad waved a hand in front of her face, breaking the spell. Vi snapped her head up with an automatic smile.

“Sorry dad, I was thinking,” she said. She forced herself to put the brooch back inside the chest. “What else do you think is in here?”

“I think there’s a ring box right there, mon ange.” He leaned over and picked up a small ring box like he had said. Opening it revealed a silver banded ring with three small opals set in ringface. Intricate silver wires and detailing made it seem like the opals were three small flowers. Vi was immediately enchanted with the beautiful thing. “I think it might be your great grandmother’s ring,” her dad said, handing it over to her.

It was a beautiful ring. “Seems more like something to keep in a box instead of on a finger,” Victoria replied, picking it up to look at it closer. “It’s pretty, though.” She slipped it on her right hand and admired the niceness.

Her dad rubbed her shoulder lovingly and stood up. “I’ll let you sort through that stuff by yourself,” he said. With a glance at his watch, he frowned and told her, “But go to bed soon. It’s nearly eleven and we’re going over to the school tomorrow to get you set up.”

Vi groaned dramatically. “ _School_. Ew.”

He laughed. “Yeah, school.” He kissed the top of her head. “Go to bed.”

“Night dad!” she called as he walked out of her room, closing the door as he went.

The girl looked back down at her hand. The old ring fit her perfectly, and she decided to wear it more often. But at that moment, she had to get ready for bed.

Slipping the ring off, she put it back in the ring box and set it aside before looking back in the small chest. That brooch caught her eye again. Vi reached out to pick it up again. Her fingers had just barely brushed it when-

A thud behind her stole her attention away.

“Louis!”

The fat cat had knocked over an empty cardboard box off her bed. Louis looked shocked in her direction, but quickly looked away and started grooming himself like nothing had happened. Victoria rolled her eyes at her dumb cat, then shut the lid to the chest. She hesitated for a moment. The pull of the brooch was still there, but she shook her head and slid the heavy chest under her bed.


	2. New Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Victoria's first day fumble at her new school. Anxiety is a bitch, but at least she looks good.

Victoria looked at herself in the bathroom mirror. She hoped she was presentable enough. “They’re not gonna kill me for wearing short overalls, right?” she asked her reflection. “Or a tshirt. I mean come on.” She gestured to her chest. “It’s just a white shirt, how could anyone-”

“If you’re done talking to yourself, we should get going,” her dad interrupted from the other side of the door. “We’ll be late.”

“One sec, dad,” she replied. It wouldn’t hurt to give herself  _ one _ last check, though. Vi did a short spin. Bag: large and filled with books she would finish by the end of the day. Boots: tied, no need to trip over laces when the shoes are already four inches tall. Winged eyeliner: sharp enough to kill a man and fly away from the scene. Nodding to herself, Vi opened the door and marched out of the bathroom confidently. “I’m-”

~*~

_ -not ready I’m not ready I’m not ready I’m not- _

“Vi, calm down,” her dad hissed to her, purposefully speaking in English. “You’ve been saying that outloud for the past thirty seconds.”

Anxiety choked her vocal cords, causing her to nod dumbly. He sighed and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. The father-daughter duo were sitting side by side inside a large and mostly empty office waiting to be seen. There was only one other person in the room, an aged woman who looked like she was about to doze off in her chair. “You’re already enrolled, Vi,” her dad said. “It’s not like this is an interview. They’re gonna hand you your schedule and shove you into class full of other teenagers-”

“Teenagers I don’t know!” Vi interrupted. She was fiddling with the hem of her kimono. It was light with large sleeves, but it was also a rather eye catching teal green. In terms of her outfit, it looked great on her. Her problem was that it was  _ eye catching _ . As in  _ people are gonna look at me and judge me and think I’m just a weird American what am I _ -

“Victoria, stop panicking.”

She looked at her dad, obviously panicked. “Did I say all that outloud again?” she asked timidly.

He cracked a small smile. “No, but I know you too well.” Giving her a kiss to her forehead and smoothing a few wild hairs of her curly, pale blonde locks back, he murmured, “You’re going to be just fine. Just take it one step at a time, mon ange. Now deep breath in.” Vi took a deep breath. “And out.” She sighed as she exhaled. “Good. You can do this.”

An older woman came out of a side door and looked expectantly at Vi and her dad. “Victoria Péron?” Vi stood up, waving awkwardly.

“That’s me-” She stopped once she realized she was still speaking English and switched to French. “Uh, me.”

The woman nodded. “I have your schedule here, along with a map,” she said, handing the teen two pieces of paper. “Feel free to ask for assistance if needed. Your teachers have been alerted, and you are exempt from being late to any classes for this first week. The first bell will ring in about ten minutes, so you have some time to find your classes.”

Vi nodded along, then squeaked out a small ‘merci’ when the woman finished speaking. Seemingly satisfied, the woman walked back into the side door without another word.

Her dad stood up. “Give me a hug, mon ange,” he said, opening his arms wide. “Be good.”

“I always am, dad,” she replied cheekily.

“I know, but it doesn’t hurt to remind you,” he teased. He took on a terrible American accent and said, “Now go get ‘em tiger!”

She laughed and waved bye to him, but paused at the door to the office. There was the sound of students in the hallways shuffling to their first class of the day. It took all her willpower not to run right back into her father’s arms like a little girl. Vi was seventeen. She was smart, she was pretty, she could conquer the world...

Probably.

Reaching up behind her head, she made sure the hairband holding her hair back in a ponytail was tight. Satisfied, she grabbed the doorknob and was getting ready to turn it when the hair tie snapped.

Vi hung her head in defeat as her dad snickered behind her and her hair fell loose.

“Here, let me fix it,” her dad said, taking out the broken elastic. “Your hair looks better down anyway.”

“Thanks dad,” she muttered sheepishly. “Take two?”

Her dad opened the door for her, which she walked through gratefully. “Can you get to your classes from here?” Vi glanced down at the map and schedule, then nodded surely. In reality, she wasn’t quite sure and didn’t want to bug her dad further. “Okay, Vi. Have a good day.”

Victoria smiled, then walked off down the hallway, glad that it wasn’t as busy as it sounded. She glanced back at her dad, then turned a corner. She didn’t realize someone was coming her way until it was too late.

The two clashed together. Vi, being unfortunate enough to wear her heeled boots that day, wobbled precariously backwards. Someone else was affected by her fall, going crashing to the ground as she failed to keep her balance and landed roughly on her shoulder and bag.

The girl she had run into sneered like she had smelled something horrid. “You clumsy little beast!” she screeched. “You almost ruined my hair!”

Vi flinched, then sat up on her arm to rub her sore shoulder. Another voice cut her off before Vi could defend herself.

“Are you alright?”

Only then did Victoria realize she was sprawled over the lap of an amazingly handsome dude. She gaped openly for a moment then scrambled up and off of him, slinging her messenger bag back over her shoulder and holding out her hand.

“Me! You were talking to me!” she stammered, helping him up. “I meant that fine. Me. I’m fine- woah you’re tall.”

The blonde haired beauty in front of her smiled kindly at her. “Ah, je ne parle pas anglais,” he said sheepishly.

Vi stared dumbly at him for a moment before his words registered. She quickly switched back to French and said, “I’m sorry! It’s habit.”

The girl Vi had run into huffed angrily, dragging Victoria’s attention away from the boy in front of her. “I’ll let this slide since you’re  _ obviously _ new here,” she snarked. “Don’t make it a habit like that dirty language of yours.” She stalked off before Vi could say anything in reply, not that she was planning on replying.

“Sorry about Chloe,” the guy said. “Are you hurt at all?”

Victoria stammered soundlessly before clearing her throat. “Oh um yes. I am a-okay!” She made an awkward ‘ok’ sign with one hand and shuffled from foot to foot. “Oh!” Vi held out her hand. “I’m Pictoria Véron. Victoria Péron!” she corrected quickly.

“Adrien Agreste,” the boy said, shaking her hand politely. He pointed to the schedule and map still in her other hand. “Do you need help finding your way? It can be a bit confusing.”

“That’d be great,” Vi said, visibly relieved. She hadn’t wanted to ask someone in case she bothered them, but Adrien was offering. “Thank you. Uh, for falling for me. I mean catching me! Were you hurt? I  _ did _ kinda land on you.”

Adrien laughed. “It was no problem at all,” he said, looking up from her schedule. “I’m sturdy.” He threw a wink her way. He was talking again before Vi could think too hard about the gesture. “It looks like we have Physics together first class. That can give me time to look over your schedule more.”

“You really don’t have to help me past that,” she said shyly. “I can find my own way.”

“And take away my chance to show the cute new girl around?” he asked teasingly. “No, we have a few other classes the same time anyway, so I might as well.”

“Really Adrien, you don’t have to,” Vi said, trying to be firmer.

“Bro there you are!” A taller dude slung his arm around Adrien’s shoulder. He had an easy going smile and headphones around his neck.

Adrien grinned. “Victoria, this is my best friend Nino. Nino, this is the new student.”

Nino put his hand out, which Vi shook. “Hey,” he said. “Welcome to hell.”

Victoria snickered. “I doubt that,” she joked. “I’m from America, you can’t get worse than that.”

“Yikes dude,” Nino chuckled, shaking his head playfully. He nudged Adrien. “Adrien, you forgot that we were gonna meet the girls by the library.”

“No, I had a run in with Victoria-”  _ Literally _ , Vi thought, “-and I wanted to help her get to her class.”

Nino shrugged. “Well, it’s  _ your _ girlfriend,” he said, strolling away down the hall.

Adrien’s face turned a bit red. “She is  _ not _ my girlfriend!” Nino waved a hand and turned out of sight in the low flow of students. “Sorry about him,” Adrien said, rubbing the back of his neck bashfully. “Him and Alya are determined to see me and another friend together.”

Vi nodded, her hands folded in front of her. “I get that,” she said softly, looking anywhere but his face.

“Let’s get to class,” Adrien said after clearing his throat. The tint of blush on his cheeks didn’t completely fade. “We’ll end up passing two of your other classes anyway.”

She hummed in agreement. They both stood still, neither one really looking at each other directly.

“Oh. I should probably lead the way, shouldn’t I?” Adrien asked sheepishly. The two teens laughed as Vi started following Adrien down the hallway.

~*~

Once they got into the physics lab, Vi felt dread sink her stomach. The desks were set up in pairs, pairs that were obviously already chosen.

“You can sit next to me,” Adrien said, waving her over to a table towards the back. “My lab partner hardly shows up once a month, so it’ll be fine.”

“I-I’m sure I could find another spot...” she mumbled. He laughed lightly.

“There’s no harm,” he assured her. “Like I said, Rachel hardly shows up to school. She never liked being my lab partner in the first place. I’m sure the teacher won’t mind.”

Victoria swallowed the lump in her throat and nodded, clutching her schedule and map to her chest nervously as she sat down next to Adrien. He wouldn’t stop smiling kindly at her and being so goddamned friendly and helpful! It was cutting her anxiety down, but she knew she would just get attached to him.  _ I can’t get dependent on someone _ , she thought, her eyes darting around the room.  _ Make other friends asap. Then I can get dependent on multiple people and don’t have to worry about- _

“Are you okay?”

She blinked. Adrien was doing an adorable head tilt with such a friendly concerned look on his face. It made her want to punch him for being so damn charming, but Vi pegged him as the kind of guy to say he deserved it. Then she realized he was waiting for a response. “Y-yeah I’m fine,” she said. Vi spun around in her seat to dig through her bag pointlessly. She just couldn’t sit there and stare into his  _ wow those are really green _ eyes.

“Did you take physics in your other school?” he asked politely, taking a binder out of his backpack.

“Um yeah, I did,” she answered, glancing at him briefly. Victoria quickly went back to ‘searching’ through her bag. “I prefer biology, though.”

Adrien opened his mouth to reply, but the bell rang right as the teacher walked in and closed the door.

“Good morning, class,” she said, standing at the front of the room. “Today we’ll be...”

Vi let the teacher’s words fade out of her mind. She had already gotten out the small sketchbook that she wanted and was busy doodling little cartoonish pictures of Louis in all his fat glory. Doodling Louis like that always helped her to channel that anxiety she had into her hands. Growing bored, she did different shapes of cats, all doing different cat-like things.

Partway through class and the notes they were taking, Adrien reached over and wrote in the corner of the page, drawing an arrow pointing to a particularly grouchy looking cat.

‘It looks like Mrs Bernard’

Victoria looked up at Adrien and noticed him trying to hide a smile behind his hand. Then she looked at their aged teacher standing at the front of the room, then back at the cat, then back at Mrs Bernard. Vi covered her mouth just in time to let out a choked laugh that she quickly made into a cough.

Mrs Bernard only glanced at Vi, not stopping in her lecture.

When the coast was clear, Vi managed to sneak her eyes to meet Adrien’s laughing ones. She gave him a look that said, ‘Really?’

He shrugged.

She turned away and bit her lip to keep from laughing again.


	3. New Problems

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our poor protagonist just can't catch a break. Luckily a couple of spandex/leather-clad heroes are there to catch her instead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Pssst this chapter is three weeks after the last one just a heads up.)

“Shit shit shit sh _ it shitshitshi- _ ”

Victoria dashed around her room, pulling on shorts and a tshirt, slamming on her converse as she practically fell down the stairs. Her dad was sitting at the kitchen counter with his first cup of coffee, yet Vi knew he wouldn’t  _ truly _ be awake until cup number three.

“ _ ShitI’mlateIloveyoudadbye! _ ” she yelled to her dad as she ran past and out the door.

In the streets, Vi was at a dead sprint and thanking her years being on the track team in the US.  _ The school isn’t that far away _ , she reasoned,  _ so I won’t be too late to- _

“Oof!”

A piercing shriek of a violin and a yelp from Victoria cut off her thoughts. Something crashed to the pavement and splintered into pieces.

The hurried teen pushed herself up from the sidewalk and looked in horror at the broken instrument. Then she looked at the unfortunate street performer that had been playing it moments prior.

He snapped out of his daze to glare at Vi angrily.

“I’m  _ so _ sorry! That was my fault, completely my fault-” she kept stammering as she pulled out a slip of paper and pen from her bag, jotting down her number as quickly as she could. She tucked it into the man’s hand before he could say anything. “I  _ promise _ I will pay for that! This is my number so you know I’m not lying just-  _ I’m late _ !”

Throwing one last apologetic look the man’s way, she ran off again.

~*~

Victoria slid into the classroom just as Mrs Bernard went to shut the door. She was across the room and in her seat when the bell rang. The aged teacher gave Vi a scolding look, but knew that she  _ technically _ wasn’t late. There would be no punishment for the girl that day.

“You cut that close,” Adrien whispered. “And you look like you ran through a zoo to get here.”

Vi groaned and hid her face in her hands. “Don’t remind me,” she muttered.

“Your shirt is on inside out, too.”

As if praying, Vi turned her eyes heavenward and sighed deeply. She had a feeling it would be a long day.

~*~

“-she just rushes in ten seconds before the bell rings and almost  _ runs down _ poor Mrs Bernard-”

Vi cut Adrien off, blushing from embarrassment as her four friends laughed. “I did not!” she cried out. He gave her a smile, his eyes mirthful, as if saying ‘oh really?’ Victoria crossed her arms and gave a playful scoff. “It was  _ seven _ seconds. Get it right.”

The five teens were sitting in the park during their lunch break, deciding that the warm Parisian day was better spent outside than in. Marinette had brought over some sugar cookies from her parent’s bakery that went perfect with their drowsy lounging.

Alya was propped up by her elbows with her face turned to the sun and Nino resting his head in her lap. Adrien started talking to Mari about some video game while she did some sewing project in her hand, a little embroidery hoop with lavender sprigs being carefully stitched into existence. Her friends relaxing paired with the beautiful haze of a spring day made moving to the city of lights seem worth it; Vi relished the moment, stowing it in her heart with care.

There was an insistent beeping from Alya’s phone that caught the attention of the teens. She sat up and started tapping away at her screen. “There’s an akuma four blocks away!” she said excitedly.

Nino groaned. “But there hasn’t been one in over a month!” he cried, rolling off his girlfriend’s lap. “I thought Hawkmoth had given up.”

“He wouldn’t just stop so easily,” Marinette said. “Come on, let’s get this cleaned up and get back inside the school.”

Vi looked between her friends, a confused expression on her face. “Wait, those things are  _ real _ ?”

The four teens paused in picking up to look at her.

“Why wouldn’t they be?” Alya asked. “I’ve told you about them for weeks! Did you think I was just making those up?”

“Of course I did! Am I supposed to believe two people in catsuits dash around the rooftops fighting magical crime on semi-regular basis?” Vi countered, putting her hands on her hips as she did.

“Technically only one of them is in a catsuit,” Adrien pointed out. “His name  is _Chat_ -”

He was interrupted by Victoria’s phone ringing. She pulled it out and answered it, thinking it was her dad calling her and freaking out about the magical villain. “Dad, I’m fine-”

A piercing note caused Vi to yank the phone away from her ear as fast as she could, nearly punching Alya as she did. It stopped after a few seconds, leaving her ears ringing. The phone beeped and signalled the call ending. The five stayed in stunned silence for a moment.

Nino broke the silence first.

“Well,  _ that _ was weird.”

Vi blinked dumbly and shook her head. “You can say that-”

“ _ YOU! _ ”

Floating nearly forty feet in the air was a man. He was pointing the bow of a violin at Victoria, a snarl on his face.

“ _ YOU  _ broke my precious violin!” he yelled. “Now  _ you  _ will be broken by the Fiddler!”

“Uh, I’m guessing that’s an akuma?” Vi asked timidly. Alya nodded vigorously as the Fiddler went to play the dark looking violin in his other hand. The end of the bow lit up when he played his mournful tune.

The Fiddler pointed the bow at Victoria again. Someone cried out for her to move, but she couldn’t. Right as the light created a beam blasting towards her, she went tumbling to the ground a few feet away.

Marinette was hovering over Vi, having pushed the frozen girl out of harm’s way. There was a blackened and smoking patch where Victoria had been standing seconds prior. The two girls didn’t waste any time getting up after that. They soon joined their friends in running away from the maddened musician and back into the school building and out of sight.

“I left my phone in my classroom!” Marinette said once they were out of direct harm. She gestured over her shoulder. “I need to call my parents and tell them I’m okay.”

“Are you crazy? ” Vi called. “There’s a dude out there trying to zap people!”

Adrien put his hand on Victoria’s shoulder. “I’ll go with her, don’t worry.” He gave her that kind smile of his and followed their friend.

Alya started pulling on her arm. “Don’t worry about those two,” she assured. “They always seem to find the best places to hide during these things.” She pushed Vi into an empty classroom they were standing near. “Stay here while Nino and I go get footage of this fight!”

Vi gaped while Nino tried to protest.

“Babe, this is her first akuma attack,” he tried to reason. “She doesn’t-”

“She’ll be fine! Vi is smart!”

“Do I get a say in this?” Victoria asked. Her question went unheard as the couple ran off, leaving Vi in an empty classroom. She sighed and sat against the wall, not knowing what would happen next.

Right as she got comfortable, something flew in through the open door. Vi yelped as a black figure crashed into the far wall face first and slid down to the floor. She stood up slowly, hearing the man groan in the settling dust. Looking around frantically, Vi grabbed a nearby metre stick to use as protection.

She crept over to where he was standing up, his back to her. He turned suddenly, which surprised Vi. Her reflexes kicked in and made her swing the flimsy wooden stick at his head. Unfortunately, he was much taller than Vi planned for, so the stick simply snapped over his shoulders.

“Ow!”

Victoria screeched and tried to kick him.

“Wait!”

He caught her leg with his hands, making Vi balance awkwardly on one leg while the other was halfway through a high kick aimed to his chest. Vi fought back, kicking and screaming and punching where she could. The man responded by holding her to his chest until she couldn’t punch or kick anything.

“Let go of me you creep!” she shouted.

“Victoria, would you stop!”

She paused, then cracked open an eye. Startling green eyes were what she noticed first. Second were the cat ears on his head, then the leather suit and bell at his neck.

“You’re Chat Noir,” she said, her voice passive and shocked.

“So you’ve finally noticed,” he replied dryly. “If I let you go, will you try to attack me again?”

Vi thought for a moment. “No.”

Chat Noir sighed and let go, stepping away from the spooked teen cautiously. He bowed deeply once he was sure she wasn’t going to jump at him again. “Bonjour, ma chéri,” he said, his belt-  _ tail? _ \- swishing behind him. “A little bug told me that you were the target of this akuma?” He phrased it like a question. Vi watched as the hero stood straight and tilted his head. It was almost funny how similar he looked to Louis in that moment.

“Uh, I think so?” she answered, unsure.

“Do you have an idea why?” Chat Noir asked.

“I was running late today and bumped into this guy on the street. I accidentally broke his violin, but I left my number for him to call.” Quickly, she said, “I promised that I would replace it!”

“Akuma’s rarely care about that,” he replied. “Follow me. My lady has a plan.” He dashed off out of the room with Vi hurrying to catch up.

He glanced back to see her falling behind. Instead of slowing down like she expected him to, he swept her legs out from under her and carried her.

“Woah!” She wanted to smack the smirk off his face when he heard her whispered exclamation, but she was too busy holding on for dear life. “You could’ve warned me!”

“Not as much fun, ma chéri,” he chirped. “And what else is a beautiful damsel in distress going to do than be saved by the handsome prince?”

“Punch said handsome prince for picking her up without warning, you stupid cat,” she grumbled.

Chat Noir laughed, but didn’t reply; they had made it out of the building. He pulled out his baton and lifted them in the air. Victoria’s eyes widened, then slammed shut from the fear. She felt Chat Noir chuckle when she threw her arms around him and hid her face in his shoulder.

They landed on the rooftops, but she didn’t get a break from there. He kept sprinting along at an alarming speed. Vi’s heart thumped dangerously fast in her chest.

“How do you do this without having a heart attack?” she gasped out after she tried to look out again.

His laugh bubbled out of him again, a pleasant sound. “When you know that the fall won’t hurt you,” he answered.

“How do you know the fall won’t hurt you?”

“I’m a cat, mon coeur,” he said easily. “I always land on my feet.”

She moved her head up to glare at him. “That was a terrible joke,” she muttered.

“Yes, but you enjoy them mon lapin,” he replied cheekily.

“Stop with the nicknames,” Vi snapped. “I’m not your dear, heart, or your rabbit.”

“Chat Noir!”

The hero Ladybug swung up beside the pair, landing deftly on the wider rooftop. Victoria hadn’t noticed they had stopped moving and was still in Chat Noir’s strong grip.

“I’m sorry for having this stray steal you away,” the spotted lady said kindly. “I have a plan, but I need you.”

Victoria tried to get out of Chat’s hold, but it didn’t seem to want to let her down. “Chat Noir, I’m pretty sure I can stand,” she told him. He scowled, yet one look from Ladybug made him set her down. Vi was still jittery with the four levels down to the ground and decided to still stand close to the leather clad hero. “What do you need?” she asked Ladybug.

“A distraction.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact: this chapter was 2018 words long. Another fun fact: It's 1:30 in the morning and I am tired. Perhaps I shall regret this chapter another day, but that's a problem for future me.


	4. New Plans

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One akuma fight later, Vi is cheered up by good friends. Even later, a hero comes to check on her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I discovered that I royally suck at writing action scenes like this. I'm just not clever enough to replicate Ladybug's tricky solutions.

“Hey Fiddler!” Vi called out.

The akumatized man spun around to look at her, his already sour face twisting into a sneer of contempt. “ _There_ you are,” he said. “You got away the first time, but I won’t miss again.”

Vi tried to calm her breathing as he charged up his violin. Panic was running rampant in her head, but the thrill of the fight was dancing through her veins. Ladybug was ready to pull her out of harm’s way in a second if something went wrong on Chat Noir’s end. Even as she stood there facing down the magical villain she caused, Vi could see the cat lithely jump from the nearby roof and onto the Fiddler’s back.

The Fiddler cried out in shock and let the beam go early. It hit the ground far away from Victoria. She watched as Chat Noir’s glowing hand clamped down on the violin. It crumbled away into dust.

Instead of a butterfly coming out like Ladybug had explained, the Fiddler just turned even angrier. His roar of rage was Victoria’s cue to run in the opposite direction, especially after he threw Chat Noir off his back.

Ladybug swung out of her hiding place using one of the lamp posts and kicked the akuma in his chest. The man went flying backwards into the street. Vi glanced back to see what the hero would do next, yet sincerely regretted doing so.

She went sprawling forward and rolled on her side on the hard ground; she had tripped over the curb, of all things. The spotted hero yelled something to Vi, something she couldn’t hear. Chat was suddenly beside her. He helped her stand.

“Get out of sight,” he told her, ushering her off the street.

“Lucky charm!”

Vi saw a boomerang appear out of thin air and land in Ladybug’s hand. “Woah! How did she-”

“I’ll explain later! Just go!” Chat ordered. Once he was satisfied with her hiding place, he ran back into the fray.

Ignoring the cat, Vi poked her head out around the building to see what was happening. Across the street, she saw a familiar girl recording from behind a parked car and wondered when Alya and Nino had gotten there.

The Fiddler was clutching the bow to his chest possessively. Ladybug tied one end of her yoyo around the boomerang and threw it, watching the toy arch around the desperate man. She caught it when it went around to her again, then pulled the Fiddler towards her. Chat Noir jumped forward to kick the bow out of reach. It flew further than the hero anticipated and landed on the ground by Vi.

Victoria’s eyes met Chat’s. He gave her a smile and a small nod.

With great satisfaction, Vi ran out and jumped on the bow, snapping it in half.

A purple butterfly flew gently out of the broken thing. Ladybug’s yoyo opened up and snapped the butterfly inside.

“Gotcha,” the hero said, smiling. She threw the boomerang into the air, yelling, “Miraculous Ladybug!”

There was a strange rush of warmth throughout Victoria’s body. Light washed over the city and everything repaired in its wake.

Vi gaped at the transformed area. What had previously been littered with debris and broken pavement looked like nothing happened. Overturned cars were righted without a scratch on them. Even Vi’s ankle didn’t feel twisted from her stumble minutes prior. She looked to where Ladybug was speaking to the previously akumatized man out of earshot.

“Amazing, isn’t she?”

Vi jumped at Chat’s sudden appearance. “Don’t sneak up on me like that!” she scolded, crossing her arms. “It’s creepy.”

Chat Noir laughed a bit. “I still have enough power left to get you back to the school,” he offered.

“No, I can go back with my friends over there,” she said, nodding her head towards Alya and Nino. The couple were getting a few questions in with the victim, while Ladybug was nowhere to be found.

“Ah, well...” Chat’s head tilted slightly, and he peered at her with an innocent curiosity. Shaking his head slightly as if to clear it, he took her hand and bowed with a flourish to kiss her hand. He winked up at her, saying, “Au revoir, ma chéri.” A small beep sounded from his ring, and he dashed to the rooftops with his baton.

Alya squealed and ran over. She threw an arm around Vi’s shoulder and grinned wide enough that Victoria was almost afraid she would split her cheeks. “Oh my gosh! That was so cute!” She shoved her phone in Vi’s face, showing an almost perfect picture of Vi standing there with Chat Noir bowed at the hip to kiss her hand. Vi didn’t want to admit it, but Alya had manged to take a great picture. “Nino! What do you think?”

“It’s an amazing pic, babe,” he said, coming over at a slower pace. There was already a police officer to take care of the akuma victim, along with news trucks coming closer. “But maybe we shouldn’t put that one on the blog.”

“You’re right,” Alya said, frowning slightly. “We don’t want you swarmed with Chat Noir’s jealous fan girls.”

“Gee thanks,” Vi said dryly. “I appreciate it.” She sighed and rubbed her face. “Can you guys just take me home? This day is exhausting.”

~*~

Alya and Nino had left Victoria at her front door with promises to bring her bag over once school was officially over and orders for her to rest. When Victoria actually _entered_ her front door she was flooded with questions from her worried father, who had been frantically watching news coverage from after the fight. It took Vi several minutes to assure her dad that, no, she wasn’t injured, yes, she was sure, yes, she was _extra_ sure, no she didn’t need to go to a hospital-

“Victoria!” her dad called up the stairs. “There’s four kids down here who said they’re your friends!”

She groaned slightly and rolled over in her bed. Her room was relatively neat, but she didn’t exactly look decent. The second she was in her room, she had pulled on plush pajamas and called it a day. “Send ‘em up,” she yelled down, still a bit groggy from her nap. She stood and opened the curtains to let in the late afternoon sun, then opened her bedroom door when her friends got to the top.

Marinette was the first one at the top. She practically tackled Vi with a hug. “I’m so glad you’re alright!” she said.

Victoria laughed. “I’m fit as a fiddle,” she joked, moving away from the door to let the other three inside. Alya hardly made it an inch in before she let out a barking laugh.

“You made it seem like you hated Chat Noir, but I guess I was wrong,” Alya said while Nino snickered behind her.

Adrien was the last one to make it into the room. He gave Vi a slightly confused look and said, “Is that a cat onesie?”

Vi blushed slightly. “I like cats!”

“Yeah, and cats like you too,” Alya replied without missing a beat.

“Not black cats,” Vi defended. Marinette giggled from her spot sitting on Vi’s bed, then pointed at the black cat onesie she was wearing. Then Adrien crouched down to pet Louis, who had been brushing against his legs. Alya remained thoroughly amused. Vi pointed an accusing finger at Louis. “You _betrayed_ me,” she hissed dramatically.

“Cough it up, babe,” Alya said teasingly to Nino. He grumbled and slapped some money in her hand, then bit back a smile when she stood on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek.

Marinette, Adrien, and Victoria all groaned loudly.

“You’re all just jealous,” Nino muttered, hooking one of his arms around his girlfriend’s waist.

Marinette chucked one of Vi’s pillows at the sappy couple, while Adrien said, “Next you’ll say grass is orange.”

“Shove it up your pretty model ass, Agreste,” Alya retorted, rolling her eyes and grinning.

“How do you know I have a pretty ass?” he asked cheekily. He was sitting cross legged on the floor with Louis purring contentedly in his lap and Victoria sitting beside him. “I thought you had a boyfriend, Alya. You shouldn’t be looking at other men.”

“We’ve all seen the Gabriel swimsuit line,” Marinette cut in. “That speedo didn’t cover very much.”

Vi laughed as Adrien’s ears turned red. She bumped her shoulder with his and leaned over to say, “They’re just jealous. If you got it, flaunt it.”

“Then why don’t _you_ flaunt it?” he asked teasingly. “You’ve obviously got it.”

“Wow, I didn’t realize I could make a cat onesie look sexy,” Vi said, winking at Adrien before striking silly poses for her friends amusement. “I might just put Chat Noir out of a job.”

Marinette choked on her laughter, nearly doubling over. “I-I d-doubt that!” she stammered out. The group had a great laugh at that, and Victoria grinned at the friends she was lucky enough to have.

~*~

Victoria sighed and stared up at her ceiling. Her friends had left two hours earlier, leaving her room surprisingly empty. Not even Louis’ loud purring could really fill the strange void. She felt like something was missing from her day, some task she forgot to do or something she left unfinished.

Sleep was fighting her so she decided to tap out. Rolling off her bed and dragging her blanket with her, she grumbled her way onto her balcony. The cool night air brushed against her face like a soothing touch.

She looked out onto the Parisian rooftops spreading out before her; she could easily imagine the darting shapes of a couple spectacular heroes dashing about to protect the city they so obviously loved. Victoria, amused, even thought that if she called out, one of the heroes would most likely come. As she thought more about it, the urge to test it became unbearable. Her mouth opened to whisper one name.

“ _Ladybug_.”

A soft whoosh of air and the gentle sound of feet landing on her balcony forced Victoria to turn around. Ladybug, in all her spotted glory, was standing there. Vi gaped openly.

The hero giggled softly into her hand. “I promise that wasn’t planned,” she said, smiling kindly. “Your name is Victoria, right?”

Vi nodded dumbly. Ladybug was _there_ , right in front of her! So close that Vi could reach out and touch her. It was a staggering thought when Vi had thought the hero fictional only that morning. “O-oh um...” Vi stammered. “Yes. I’m amazed. That you knew my name, I mean. Well, you’re _you_ , and _you_ are standing on my balcony while I’m-” _in a fucking cat onesie. Way to go, Vi._

“Normally Chat and I switch off checking on the akuma victims, and tonight it’s my turn,” Ladybug said, standing in a relaxed manner. “Of course, he tends to ‘forget’ who’s turn it is when a pretty girl is involved.”

“I- but he-” Vi snapped her mouth shut. “I haven’t gotten a visit from him, but...”

“The night is still young,” Ladybug finished, glancing out onto the rooftops she had come from. Turning back to Victoria, she took a couple steps closer. “I guess there’s no other reason for me to be here...”

Their eyes met, and, for a moment, Vi felt something warm spark up inside her. It was fleeting, but still there. Ladybug seemed to linger too close, barely six inches away. Vi idly noticed that she was taller than the spotted hero. Ladybug’s hand reached up and paused before dropping quickly to her side again. She moved back a respectable distance, breaking their strange connection.

“I should let you get back to your night,” Ladybug said, flashing that same kind smile. Vi barely picked up on the slight strain to the hero’s smile. The lady stepped up on the railing of the balcony, her yoyo in hand. “Should you need anything, I know that Chat Noir and I will always be able to hear you call for us.”

The thought was comforting. “Thank you, Ladybug,” Victoria said sincerely. “I- thank you.” Ladybug nodded to her and swung away out of sight.

Once she was sure the spotted lady was gone, Vi slapped her hand over her mouth to hold in her giddy laugh. She grinned and sat down on the tiled balcony, still reeling from surprise that a _real superhero_ had visited her. Her excitement bubbled down into a small happiness as she looked up at dark sky.

“God, what the hell even is my life now?” she whispered to herself with a smile.

“Bonsoir, ma chéri.”

Chat Noir had leapt deftly onto the railing of her balcony, perching there in a crouch like a proper cat. His head was tilted slightly, his tail flicking lazily behind him, and a cheshire grin on his face.

“I was sorta expecting you,” Vi said, smiling slightly and standing up.

He raised an eyebrow and hopped off the railing. “Oh? Why, if I may ask?”

Vi shrugged. “Ladybug already paid me a visit,” she said simply.

He seemed puzzled. “But it’s not her turn,” he said, confused. “Why would she-” The cat stopped for a moment, then peered at Vi. Some sort of understanding dawned on him. Chat took a step forward, a sly grin on his face. He took her hand in his, bowing over and kissing it before standing again. Her hand stayed in his, his hold lingering while his feline eyes glittered with an impish delight. “It slipped my mind that this humble stray isn't the only one who enjoys visiting beautiful women. My bugaboo does have a certain preference...”

Victoria gaped at him, shocked. “I- you- what do you-” she stammered a few seconds more, before snapping her mouth shut and scowling at him. “Why are you here?” she asked, looking up at him.

“Because it was my turn,” he said simply. He let go of her hand and moved back to lean against the railing. “And you are an interesting woman.”

She scoffed lightly and crossed her arms. “You don’t even know me, furball,” she teased, flicking his bell.

He leaned in, a smirk on his face. “I’d like to change that,” he murmured. His gaze didn’t waver from hers. “If my lady finds you intriguing enough to skip a turn, then there must be something about you...” The cat’s head cocked to the side, and he blinked. Stretching out like a, well, like a cat, he gave her that same cheshire grin as before. “I believe it is time for me to take my leave.”

“What?” Vi asked, snapping out of the daze he had somehow put her in. “Why? You only just got here.”

“Missing me already, mon coeur?” he teased, putting a finger under her chin. “If it is alright with you, I’d like to come back tomorrow. Perhaps I won’t catch you quite so off guard.”

She turned her eyes away, feeling slightly bashful. “You didn’t catch me off guard, you dumb cat,” Vi mumbled. She brushed his hand away and stepped back towards her bedroom door. “You can come tomorrow if you want.”

His smile was beaming. “Tomorrow, then,” he said, “Victoria.” Her name was like an afterthought, like he had planned to use one of those silly pet names but switched to her own instead. The tricky cat bowed and threw her a wink. “Sleep well, ma chéri. Try not to dream of me too much.” Chat went to leave, but paused. “Oh, and I like your pajamas.”

His parting remark made her laugh. “Get out of here, you silly stray,” Vi said, smiling at him. Chat threw one last glance back at her before leaping off the railing and into the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing fictional people out of character is for chumps.
> 
>  
> 
> And I am a chump.


	5. New Powers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Late night visits and whoops what's this magical blue thing?

“Victoria, if you’re not too busy drawing, I’d like it if you paid attention.”

Vi stammered a bit, embarrassed. “Pardon, Madame Bouchard,” she muttered, closing her sketchbook and setting it aside. The history teacher turned back to the lecture and Victoria at least attempted to take notes. Her attempt at focusing failed miserably as thoughts of a cheshire grin and a spotted suit filled her mind.

Neither hero had made sense. Ladybug was cool and professional, but there was something strange about their short interaction that made Vi try to pick apart every detail of the moment. Chat Noir was another sort of confusing. He seemed to be flirting with her, yet not? He insinuated that Ladybug only visited because Vi was-

She felt her face warm up.

_ “It slipped my mind that this humble stray isn't the only one who enjoys visiting beautiful women. My bugaboo does have a certain preference...” _

What was he hinting at? She couldn’t tell what Ladybug had been thinking. Chat Noir was much more open, and if she could trust how he acted, he thought Vi was- she swallowed thickly, her mouth suddenly dry why was that? -  _ beautiful _ . And he was going to visit her balcony again that night.

_ Oh my god. _

_ He’s coming back tonight _ .

The bell rang, scaring Victoria out of her thoughts. She scrambled to grab her pen and binder, not bothering to shove it in her bag as she snatched her sketchbook, then hurried out of the classroom as fast as she could.

~*~

She sighed and continued doodling. Marinette was talking to her about an assignment they were supposed to be doing, but neither seemed very inclined to do it with only five minutes left of their shared math class.

“So Alya was telling me about how she’s pregnant,” Marinette said.

“Really?” Vi asked, trying to sound interested. “I need to get her a gift then.”

Marinette had a shark like grin. “Yeah, but she’s not sure it’s Nino’s, or if he’s ready to be a father,” she continued chattering. “I’d pay to see his reaction. It’ll probably be as great as when Adrien and I asked him to help hide a dead body.”

“Take a picture, I wanna see his face too,” Victoria said absently.

“You’re not bothered by this in the least?” she asked, leaning forward. “For someone with such staunch morals, you seem unbothered.”

“Why would I be? Alya and Nino are valued friends and I wish them nothing but happiness,” Vi answered. Her eyebrows furrowed as she tried to get the lips right. God, she hated drawing mouths, but Chat’s mouth was too pretty not to-  _ Wait, where did that come from? _ She shook the thought away, distractedly nodding along to Marinette’s words.

“She’s hoping it’s a boy so she can name it Chat Noir.”

Victoria’s head shot up. “What about Chat Noir?”

Marinette slapped a hand over her mouth to keep from laughing too loudly. “You finally notice,” she said between bouts of laughter. “And here I was thinking you were actually going to buy baby clothes for Alya.”

“Why would I-” Vi paused as their strange conversation came back to her. “Ohhh.” She snorted once, then let out a bubbling stream of laughter that wouldn’t go back down. “You’re an ass for not telling me sooner,” Vi managed to let out. Marinette snickered, an impish look on her face, before the bell rang and urged them out of their last class of the day. “Stupid one sided conversations aside, do you want to come over? And the others, of course.”

Her friend smiled brightly. “That sounds great!” she chirped. She pulled out her phone, most likely texting Alya. “It’s Friday, too. Wanna do a movie night?”

“Oh! That’s a good idea!” Vi exclaimed. She was about to suggest turning it into a sleep over, but remembered a certain tom cat that promised to come around. She caught her smile widening without reason.  _ You have more than one reason. Some green eyes, a pretty golden bell, a leather-clad body you wouldn’t kick out of bed for eating crackers _ \- Vi ignored her thoughts to turn back to her friend’s comfortable chatter.

~*~

Alya and Nino were yelling at each other. The couple had been arguing over which movie to watch for ten minutes while the other three friends were setting up snacks in Victoria’s living room. By the time the three had finished, Alya and Nino  _ still _ hadn’t chosen what to watch.

Vi hopped over the back of the couch and plopped herself in the space between Adrien and Marinette, snatching the remote from Alya’s hand as she went. “We’re watching the Last Shift,” she said with an air of finality. 

Alya and Nino calmed down a bit and sat in the loveseat together, their bickering forgotten as the decision was taken out of their hands. Vi pressed play with an evil grin on her face.

“Um, Victoria?” Marinette asked from her left. “Is this a horror movie?”

“Yup!” Vi chirped happily, laughing as Adrien tensed beside her. “Don’t tell me you two don’t like horror movies?”

“They’re both wimps,” Alya sang.

“The last time we all tried to watch a horror movie with Adrien, he screeched so loud that Nathalie almost kicked us out of his house,” Nino added. He ignored the indignant and embarrassed responses of the pair. “And Marinette hid behind a pillow for half of it.”

“Then we’re  _ definitely _ watching this,” Victoria said, an almost devilish grin spread wide.

She wasn’t disappointed in her friends’ reactions. Marinette’s legs slowly crept up closer to her chest as the movie went along, and by the end of it she was practically curled into herself. The girl had found a pillow to hide behind, much to her friends’ amusement. Adrien on the other hand was flinching every time something came on screen. He was so tense that Vi was half afraid that he’d snap. It was harder to hold back her laughter when one particularly spooky jumpscare caused him to dive behind Victoria’s shoulder and wrap his arms around her, clinging desperately.

Marinette had apparently seen Adrien’s idea and joined him, both hanging onto Victoria in an attempt to escape the scares. Adrien had gotten his arms around her waist, turning his face into her neck to hide, while Marinette laid her head in Vi’s lap and used her pillow to cower behind.

The movie was nearly over when Alya decided to spook Nino. Her boyfriend was so entranced with the movie that he didn’t notice her face creeping up beside his, a devilish smirk tugging at her lips. Vi watched quietly and tried not to let the others know what was happening. Alya glanced over at Vi with a knowing twinkle in her eye, then whispered, “Boo!” in Nino’s ear.

He yelped, then jumped in his seat. Alya was quick enough to avoid being caught in his flailing movements, but the popcorn bowl wasn’t as lucky. What little popcorn was left went sailing through the air onto the couch and floor while Alya laughed.

Unfortunately, Nino wasn’t the only one spooked.

Marinette screeched and leapt over the back of the couch to duck and hide. Adrien seemed to have the same idea, but wasn’t nearly as nimble in doing so. Because of how he was sitting practically attached to Vi’s waist, the top of his head bashed into her jaw and caused them both to groan in pain. Alya was in tears from cackling so hard.

“Babe! What the hell?!” Nino yelled.

Victoria managed to laugh through the pain. Standing up, she said, “Come on, Adrien. I’ll get you an ice pack or something.” He followed her into the kitchen, and she began digging through her freezer.

“I’m sorry for being so... clingy during the movie,” Adrien apologized, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. “I really hate horror movies-”

“Nah, you’re fine,” Vi said, waving her hand. “Not everyone’s cup of tea.” She turned around and handed him a pack of frozen peas. “This is the best I have. And look! We’re matching!” Victoria held up the other bag, a small smile on her face.

Adrien chuckled, holding the peas to his head.

~*~

Two light raps at her window caught her attention.

Victoria looked up from her book with a smile, then walked over to the balcony. “Hey,” she greeted, leaning against the doorframe.

Chat Noir bowed theatrically. “Salut, ma chéri,” he said as he stood up straight again. That cheshire smirk of his was spread across his cheeks. “Care to let a simple stray in for a while?”

She rolled her eyes and stepped aside to let him in. “My dad stays at work until around midnight on Fridays,” she told him over her shoulder, “so no need to worry about that.”

“No pass for my superhero status?” he asked. Vi shook her head with a small laugh.

“A superhero boy is still a boy, Chat,” she teased, sitting on the edge of her bed. “Was there anything in particular you wanted to talk about?”

He sauntered over to stand a respectable distance away from her, shrugging as he did. “I’m not allowed to be intrigued by someone?” She gave him a flat look. Chat huffed a bit, crossing his arms stubbornly. “What’s that look for?”

“I’m not convinced.”

His eyes narrowed, but she met his gaze with what she hoped was steady look. Internally, she was wilting into a ball of nerves and disbelief. What could she possibly have done to make the saviors of Paris interested in her?

“You’re a puzzle to me,” he stated after a moment. “You didn’t exactly act like a damsel in distress yesterday, and you weren’t entirely panicked despite the supervillain after your head.”

Vi gave him a small smile and glanced away shyly. “I guess I perform well under stress,” she answered. “Normally I’d be a stuttering mess around someone new, but you carried me halfway across the city by rooftop.” She paused for a second, then looked up to meet his cat-like eyes. “Besides... you’re a puzzle to me, too, Chat Noir.”

Something flashed across his face too quickly for her fully decipher it. She half expected him to crack some joke, but he didn’t. Honestly, she had no idea what she was expecting from the feline hero. He flipped her perception of everything; he smiled. Not a smirk or grin Vi fancied he stole from the cheshire cat, but a real smile that seemed to light up the boy’s entire face.

“Perhaps one day we’ll both put the pieces together,” he replied.

They kept their eyes locked for a short moment. Unfortunately, Vi felt the moment had turned slightly awkward. She cleared her throat and tore her gaze away from his. Grappling for a conversation topic, she spurted out the first thing to come to mind. Also unfortunately, she was staring right at Louis, who was happily snoozing away on the small futon across the room.

“I like cats,” Vi blurted out, then mentally cringed.  _ Fucking hell, Vi, try acting like a normal human next time _ .

“So you’re saying there’s going to be a next time?” Chat Noir’s face was plastered with a shit eating grin. “You know, for an American, you really are charming.”

She scowled at him. “How do you know I’m American?” she demanded. “Do you make it a habit to stalk pretty girls, too?”

He laughed, then pointed at her desk. “Your passport is sitting out,” he answered. “And there’s a t-shirt with the American flag on it over there in your clothes bin.” The boy bent at the hip to level their gazes, his grin shifting to a smirk. “There’s also the fact that you said all that in English.”

Victoria gaped at him in shock, feeling slightly offended. She got over it quickly, the indignation of his (albeit, accurate) observations overriding any nerves she had before. Her own lips tugged into a wry smile at the cat’s expense. “So,” she said, purposefully using English. “The cat knows English?”

“I am a smart cat, Victoria,” Chat retorted easily in the same language. His accent was slightly thick, but it was easy enough to understand him. He stood straight, then sat down on the floor in front of her. “Not some filthy stray like you thought first, hm?”

“If I thought you were filthy, I wouldn’t have let you in,” she shot back, smiling down at him. On impulse, she ruffled his hair with a hand. Chat pushed his head up to meet her touch before both of them froze. The realization of what they were doing set in, and both shied away laughing nervously. “O-oh um sorry Chat Noir,” Vi stammered. Her face felt hot with her blush.

He waved a hand, chuckling and blushing like she was. “It’s no big deal, Vi,” he assured her. “I  _ am _ a cat, after all. Besides, I carried you across Paris by rooftop. You’re not allowed to be a stuttering mess around me.” He punctuated his words with a bright, sincere smile. His cat-like eyes looked at her from behind his mask.

After a few seconds of silence, his smile faltered a bit, and Vi realized she hadn’t said anything, but was gaping at the hero instead. “Oh! Uh, yeah,” she forced out. The grin that paired her words was anything but forced. “No strong promise there, but I’ll try,” she said a bit shyly. Vi’s embarrassed blush was still tinting her cheeks.

A rapid beeping interrupted what Chat had been preparing to say in reply. His eyes darted to his ring, and he sighed. “Sorry,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck and smiling apologetically. “I gotta run. Would you... would you mind it if I came back? Not later tonight, obviously, but...”

Victoria laughed. “But we still need to match some puzzle pieces, kitty,” she finished for him. She mentally chided herself for calling him kitty; it might’ve felt right, but it was crossing a line. They didn’t know each other past-

“What’s this?”

She snapped out of her self-chastising to look at what Chat had poked at. He was crouched to look under her bed at the chest of heirlooms she had all but forgotten about. “Oh that?” Vi slid off the bed to sit next to him, dragging the heavy thing out to show him. “It’s just a bunch of old stuff my grandpa left me.” To prove it, Victoria opened the unlocked lid to give him a quick look inside; she didn’t expect one of the heroes of Paris to steal her stuff. Though he  _ would _ make a pretty cute cat burglar, Vi reasoned with herself.

Chat wrinkled his nose up. “It smells like dust,” he stated, poking a wrapped package with a finger. “Anything-” His ring beeped again, almost like it was impatient. He rolled his eyes and huffed. “I really do need to go, now.” He stood up, then held his hand out to help Vi up alongside him. Using more of his dramatic actions, Chat bowed low, his hand bringing hers up to kiss her knuckles lightly. “Au revoir, mon lapin,” he teased. “May we meet again soon.”

Vi rolled her eyes. “I’ll leave some extra cat food sitting on my balcony,” she teased right back. They both laughed, then moved towards her door. “Goodnight, Chat Noir.”

“Goodnight, mon coeur.” He winked, then extended his baton and leapt off her balcony into the night. She waited, leaning her shoulder against the doorframe, to watch him run across a few rooftops before she turned away and walked back inside.

Instead of flopping on her bed like she intended, Vi stumbled over the momentarily forgotten chest still sitting in the middle of her floor. She caught herself on the edge of her nightstand, then glared at the offending piece of wood. “Stupid old box,” she muttered, crouching to close it.

As her hands wrapped around the lid, the girl paused. The peacock brooch that she had picked up that first day drew her attention in the same mystifying way. It was just sitting there on the edge of the neat pile, half covered with an old silver hairbrush. With nothing in the way, Victoria reached in and grabbed the brooch.

A blinding white light erupted from the jewelry, a light that caused Vi to yelp and scrambled backwards. It died out as abruptly as it had began and left nothing but a small blue...  _ thing _ floating in place where the light had been seconds prior.

The blue  _ thing _ yawned, then blinked wide eyes at Vi’s horrified face. It smiled.

“You must be Victoria,” it said in a small voice. “I’m Duusu, your kwami!”

Vi responded the only way she could think of.

By fainting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just thought I should mention that I know Adrien told Victoria that he didn't speak English in the second chapter. He did it because he didn't want to embarrass her. Obviously there was no saving that, but I think that precious cat son would try his best to make anyone feel comfortable.


	6. Interlude: Something Super

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath of Vi's fainting spell and an informed decision.

Victoria stared at the small creature sitting on her desk, her hands clutching the sides of her head and elbows resting on her knees as she sat on the end of her bed. It was _still. Eating_.

 _‘It’ has a name, Vi_ , she scolded herself. She cleared her throat to get Duusu’s attention.

“Yes, Victoria?” the kwami asked, patiently looking up at Vi.

“If you’re done eating your... uh, berries, could you explain all of this again?”

Duusu set aside the half eaten strawberry. “I’m a kwami, a magical creature who grants you powers to defeat evil and protect people like Ladybug and Chat Noir, two people with kwamis and miraculous stones.” The small thing seemed to have a condescending tone to her voice, but honestly, Vi didn’t blame her. It was the fourth time she had explained it, and every new explanation got shorter and slightly more irritated as they went. “All you need to do is say ‘Duusu, let’s fly!’ and you’ll suit up and gain powers beyond your wildest dreams.”

Vi furrowed her brows in thought, meeting Duusu’s eyes with an intense look of deliberation. She opened her mouth, shut it, then opened it again to sigh heavily.

“You’re not gonna go away if I say no, are you?” Vi asked suddenly, surprising even herself.

Duusu, caught off guard by the question, let out a short, barking laugh. “I have nowhere _to_ go, Victoria,” she answered with a bright grin. “If you don’t want the powers, then I have no right to push you, but I really don’t know what else I would do. Your grandfather left me to you for a reason and I-”

“Wait wait wait wait.”

The kwami paused with a confused expression as Vi waved her hands to get her to stop.

“You,” Vi stated, pointing at the kwami, “a small magical creature with phenomenal cosmic power, knew my grandfather, an old man who supposedly disowned his daughter because she married someone he didn’t like.”

Duusu nodded sharply.

“Bullshit.”

“Excuse you! Language, please,” Duusu chided with a frown. “And yes, I knew your grandfather. He was my chosen nearly forty years ago. Obviously not anymore...” Her eyes went downcast, a small amount of dullness coming to them for a moment. She sighed and shook her head. “He may not have listened to me then, but he really did love you and your mother, Victoria.”

“Why?”

“Sorry?”

Victoria felt her temper flare. “Why?” she pressed again. “He went twenty three years without reaching out to us. Why did he leave me this house, that stupid chest of old shit? Why did he leave me _you_?”

Duusu was silent for a moment. “Because of Hawkmoth,” she finally said, her voice soft and anxious. “To help.”

A scoff. “What about him? Ladybug and Chat seem to have him just fine on their own.”

“It’s not that,” she replied seriously. “There’s a day of reckoning coming, Victoria. On that day, Ladybug and Chat Noir will need all the help they can get. Whether or not that help is you depends on your answer.”

~*~

Victoria woke up the next morning to sun streaming across her face after a long night of tossing and turning. Duusu’s deathly serious words had echoed in her head for hours after they both decided she sleep on her answer. She remembers wondering, in a moment of hazy sleeplessness, if Ladybug and Chat Noir had been given such a choice, and if they didn’t, what they would have done.

She remembers wondering if she could even pull off being a superhero when she could barely answer a question in class without suffering a minor panic attack. How could she be a superhero when she routinely stumbled, stuttered, and fell through every situation that counted as mildly stressful?

She had every right to say no, Vi knew that. But then... what if Ladybug had said no? What if Hawkmoth was left to rampage the streets of Paris, unstoppable?

Victoria glared at her ceiling. She had some research to do.

~*~

Duusu didn’t speak to her at all. The kwami seemed to respect the fact that Vi needed more time to think it through, and stayed out of way as Vi powered through Ladyblog posts, countless news articles, and so many videos of akuma fights.

In truth, Vi didn’t know what she was looking for. If there was some answer to her problems strung together everything she could glean from the internet, it was still hidden behind a few more blog posts. The overflow of information was turning her brain to mush, but she promised herself one more post before she let herself stop searching.

The post wasn’t anything huge or popular, but it hit a cord in Vi’s chest. It was a long post of testimonials from victims of akuma attacks and those who had been saved by Ladybug and Chat Noir. It was... it was enlightening.

A sense of purpose was growing inside her as she read each one. Their bravery. Their willingness to jump into danger if it meant keeping an innocent from harm. The way they both smiled in the face of negative situations, even when all seemed impossible.

Vi sighed. She knew what she had to do. Pushing away all her questioning fears and self doubt, she spoke up.

“Duusu?”

The kwami turned to look at her from where she was sitting on the window ledge. A small, knowing smile was spread on her face, one that Vi matched.

“Let’s fly.”


	7. Something Exhilirating

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Duusu?”  
> The kwami turned to look at her from where she was sitting on the window ledge. A small, knowing smile was spread on her face, one that Vi matched.  
> “Let’s fly.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Paonne is pronounced like pon, or pond without the d.

All at once, a blue-green flash took over her vision. The sensation of skin tight material forming over her body and replacing her normal pajamas was disorienting to say the least. In a split second, she was blinking away spots in her vision and landing softly on her feet.

Victoria looked around her room and blinked harder. The spots had gone, but everything seemed just a little more crisp and defined than when she was... powered down? Normal? She’d figure that out later. More importantly, Vi wanted to know how absolutely crazy she looked.

She rushed over to the tall standing mirror in her corner and gasped at her reflection.

Her long blonde hair was pulled back in place by the brooch, her hair tucked into the messy french braid she had before transforming and showed off the teal mask covering her eyes. A solid, royal blue suit was accented by green feather like gradients on her shoulders and torso. Blue boots made in such the same manner went halfway up her calves.

Easily the biggest, most eye catching part was the large fan of feathers behind her and following the form of her lower back like a peacock’s tail. Her hands glided over each part of her new suit, feeling every inch of smooth, cool material that felt like a second skin; this led to her discovering and undoing the small clip holding her tail to her lower back. She promptly fumbled her tail onto the floor with a loud clatter that scared Louis under the bed.

Standing there frozen in an awkward failed catch in her _superhero costume_ in her _bedroom_ put a lot of things into perspective for Victoria.

A weak, jittery laugh left her lips. “Oh my god,” she whispered to the empty room. “Oh my _god_ .” Vi stood up straight. “I’m a superhero. A real, live, honest to the lord almighty _superhero_.” Her laughter turned slightly hysterical as she picked up her tail.

“I have a burlesque fan to fight crime with,” she joked to herself. The tail- _fan?_ _It’s a fan_ \- spread wider than before. She turned it over in her hands to test the weight, satisfied with how natural it felt in her hand. “Duusu?” A quick look around the room showed no sign of the strange creature. “Duusu, where are you?”

A ping in her mind prompted her to touch the brooch at the nape of her neck and reminded her of the many explanations Duusu had given the girl.

_“I won’t be able to talk to you directly once I’m in the brooch, Victoria,” Duusu’s squeaky voice explained through a mouthful of strawberry. “I can only really communicate with you when you’re not transformed.”_

Vi sighed and clipped her fan back in place. “Guess I’m on my own, then,” she muttered to herself, then marched to her balcony door. She froze with her hand outstretched and ready to open it.

A shot of panic curled itself in the pit of her stomach. Her breath hitched, her heartbeat began racing, and tears came unbidden to her eyes.

“Now is _not_ the time,” she scolded herself. Tears were angrily wiped away. “Get yourself together, Vi! You’re a damned superhero, so go do something super!”

Another ping from the brooch gave a calming effect, like Duusu knew what she was thinking, knew how to calm the anxiety rearing its ugly head and tearing Vi’s confidence to shreds.

Victoria pushed her anxiety back enough to step into the late morning light in Paris. She found the nerve to stand on the edge of her balcony. She couldn’t muster anything more to actually step _off_ the balcony, so she counted it as a win. Right when she started thinking about turning around to go back inside and cry, her brooch pinged in irritation.

Right. She had made it that far, she should go further. Push herself just outside of her comfort zone.

_I’d say this qualifies as ‘out of my comfort zone’._

“God, just stop thinking,” Victoria said, grabbing at her head and sighing deeply. Her eyes slid closed, and she remembered.

_“How do you do this without having a heart attack?”_

_“When you know that the fall won’t hurt you.”_ _  
_

_“How do you know the fall won’t hurt you?”_ _  
_

_“I’m a cat, mon coeur. I always land on my feet.”_

Determination covered her fraying anxiety. Her voice came out resolutely.

“The fall won’t hurt me.”

Her eyes opened, and she jumped. She was airborne, gliding across the way to the next roof over. Rolling to a soft landing then springing up, she laughed giddily and started running without losing speed.

“The fall won’t hurt me!” she said to herself.

Victoria’s pure, joy filled laughter rang out across the Paris rooftops as she ran and ran and ran and didn’t pause for more than a quick breath and a look around to see where else she could run.

Without any true thought, she found herself perched atop a building near Notre Dame of all places. The midday sun hit the cathedral just so to make her stop and think.

Her breathing wasn’t any heavier than if she had done a light jog around the track like back in the US. Free running on the rooftops of Paris only seemed to be a warm up in her transformation.

The sound of a commotion down below cut short her musings. Tourists and Paris natives alike pointed at her and chattered.

“Oh shit,” she said softly. “Didn’t think about that.” She froze in her crouched position; a part of her hoped that they would mistake her for a gargoyle, only to remember that she was only across the street from Notre Dame, not on top of it. “Damn it. What should I do?”

Her brooch pinged confidently.

“Oh yeah. Superhero.”

Victoria put on her mask in more ways than one, then stood up straight to make herself fully visible to them. “Just a small taste for now, dutiful citizens!” she narrated to herself quietly. “She’s new in town, but she won’t be for long! This isn’t the last glimpse you’ve seen of-”

Vi cut herself off. She hadn’t thought of a name. She couldn’t very well use her _own_ name, could she? That’d defeat the purpose of a secret identity.

“This isn’t the last you’ve seen of Paonne.”

Deciding to show off for the crowd a bit, she moved closer to the edge of the roof to give them a good look. A cheeky grin and a small peace sign was enough, she thought.

Victoria turned her back on the growing crowd to dash away from their sight.

~*~

**_Another Hero? New Girl on the Seine!_ **

_One blue clad figure was documented by tourists and Parisian citizens alike near Notre Dame earlier this afternoon. She was seen standing on the edge of a rooftop, flashing a prize winning smile and cute peace sign to the onlookers below before disappearing over the rooftops._

_What does Paris think of the newcomer? Take the poll on the TVi website to add your opinion!_

~*~

Victoria glided onto her balcony and rolled into the room, making Louis jump up from his spot on her couch in shock. She dropped her transformation with a giddy laugh and a bright blue flash. Duusu zoomed in front of her, a big smile taking up the tiny creature’s face.

“So?” Duusu asked.

“That was amazing!” Vi shouted, flopping backwards onto her bed. “I just parkoured over half of Paris’ buildings and I’m only a little bit sore! I freaking _jumped_ and _floated_ across most of the gaps because _I am a fucking superhero_!”

She sat up, strands of her hair falling in her face. “I’m a superhero!” she repeated, laughing loudly. “I can’t believe it!” Vi rubbed her face vigorously, shook her head, then pinched herself. “Nope! I still can’t believe it!”

Duusu laughed along side her chosen. “Well you better believe it!” she answered. “You were seen, too. Wait ‘til Plagge and Tikki see this!” The little god cackled almost evilly.

Vi slipped back onto her bed, more relaxed this time. Her eyes closed, and she took a deep breath with a smile on her face. “I’m a superhero,” she murmured. One eye peeked open. “Oh, there’s a ton of berries downstairs, Duusu,” she added. “My dad is always trying to eat healthier, but it never works. They’ll go bad if nobody eats them.”

Not needing any more prompting, Duusu disappeared down the stairs.

Sighing contentedly, Vi stared at her ceiling with a goofy grin.

“I’m a superhero.”

~*~

“Marinette!”

Marinette jolted up from her chaise lounge, throwing her project to the side and taking a karate stance. “Wha?! Back up, I know kung fu!” she shouted.

Tikki was in front of her face, not an intruder, and had, in fact, been the one to wake the girl up so abruptly. Marinette relaxed.

“Oh it’s just you Tikki,” she said, going to pick up the half embroidered dress that had been tossed away. “What do you-”

Her phone was shoved in her face unceremoniously, and Marinette scrambled to catch it. Bluebell eyes flitted across the screen, reading the newsline.

“‘New girl on the Seine?” she asked, brows furrowed. “Adrien is the only person who could make a pun worse than that.”

“Marinette,” Tikki chided. “Look at it!”

Once the words settled in, Marinette gasped and stared at Tikki in shock.

“The peacock? It’s active?”

“We’re going to need to talk Master Fu asap.”

Marinette nodded firmly. Right before she could respond, her phone went off with an akuma alert. The two sighed and tucked the thought for when the fight was over.

“Looks like we have some business to do first,” Marinette said. “Tikki! Spots on!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The headline is a pun. New girl on the scene. New girl on the "Seine". Because Notre Dame is by the Seine. Ha.


	8. Something Colorful

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Paonne crashes the superhero party.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi. My life is a wreck but I am alive. Sleep deprived, but alive nonetheless. I struggled with this chapter for a good week or more, and even then I don't think it's the best I've done for this. Writing LB and CN in character is so hard but I'm t r y i n g. Also this is completely unedited because yolo. If somebody could tell me if there's anything majorly messed up, I'd really appreciate it.

Chat Noir blinked in bewilderment.

The entire street was filled with flowers; every inch was hidden under layers of  _ flowers _ . Not just a single type of flower, no. It was a variety, a magnificent show of beautiful species and types, not one of them more than slightly similar to another. At least from what he could see. Then again, he wouldn’t put it past himself to exaggerate something like that.

“Chat Noir!”

Ladybug came swinging up beside him on the bridge overlooking the colorful display. “Some sort of plant based akuma,” she started, not bothering to give a hello before her sharp eyes darted around. “Perhaps a gardening tool or a packet of seeds.”

Chat rolled his eyes good humoredly. “Happy to see you too, bugaboo,” he sang.

“If it isn’t Ladybug and Chat Noir! Glad you both could make it to my show!”

A college aged woman stood at the end of the bridge, her costume seemingly splattered with colors. Around her waist was a stained apron filled to the brim with art supplies and a messy palette was hooked to the side of her hip. “My name is Paint Slick!” she shouted gleefully. “Give me your miraculous or this’ll get  _ messy _ .”

He drew his baton right as Ladybug readied her yoyo. “We’re not going to give up  _ that _ easily,” Ladybug shot back. “Chat!”

“Oui, milady!”

They jumped forward in unison, both ready to attack the akuma from both sides. Paint Slick pulled out seemingly random art supplies from her belt, from a ruler she used to counter Chat’s baton to a tube of paint she tried to squeeze into LB’s face. They danced their little dance before she spilled several tubes of paint on the ground at their feet and causing the two heroes to slip and slide around.

LB yelped as she crashed into Chat and sent them both sprawling through the flowers-

“Paint?” They said at the same time.

True to their question, all of the flowers were made of slick, still wet paint.

Paint Slick laughed from across the street. “They told me my art was too colorful, too  _ eclectic _ ,” she sneered, hands on her hips. “They’re the ones who’ll be eclectic once I’m done with them!” Without another word, the akuma turned tail and dashed through the streets, sliding on a trail of paint as she went.

Chat stood up as best he could with his slipping feet. A glance at his partner showed her struggling much the same.

“Milady, I think it might be her apron,” he said once they managed to stand. Ladybug didn’t reply, instead covering her mouth with a hand.

“Chaton, you’re finally showing your true colors,” she snickered.

He raised his eyebrow at her, then took in his own appearance. True to her words, his black suit strongly contrasted the vibrant paint the akuma threw at them. He opened his mouth to reply, but was interrupted by a cheery voice calling out to them.

“Ladybug! Chat Noir!”

A girl landed in front of the two heroes sporting her bright teal costume and the easily recognizable peacock tail. She flashed a prize winning smile and a proud pose. “Bonjour, mes amis!” she said, giving a cute little wave. “Je suis la Paonne.” Paonne punctuated her introduction with a sweeping bow.

Chat felt his eyes widen in surprise, turning to Ladybug when he had no immediate response. She looked less shocked than he was.

LB seemed to go to speak, then snapped her mouth shut with a shifty look around them. “We can’t talk here,” she said to Chat. Turning to Paonne, she snapped, “Try to keep up.”

She darted off without another word, leaving the other two to flounder after her.

To Chat Noir’s pleasant surprise, Paonne managed to pace alongside him; she looked like she was doing it with ease even. Every once in a while, she would catch him gaping after her when she glided over a gap in the rooftops or when she spun mid-air to direct her glide with her tail feather- her fan? It looked like a fan to him. The whole time she had at least a small smile on her face like she was happy just to be running with them.

Ladybug stopped abruptly and tugged them both into a cramped alley. Her eyes were serious and gave the effect of her being a towering giant despite him and Paonne both being a good head above her. He always did love that about his lady.

“Where did you get your miraculous?” Ladybug came out strong, cutting straight to the point. Another thing he admired.

Paonne’s face wavered, letting him see the nervousness behind her proud stance. “A family member,” she answered seriously. “They used to be the peacock holder years ago, but...” She hesitated, but turned defensive just as quickly. “They passed it onto me. Does it matter?”

“What milady is trying to ask you is...” Chat purposefully stepped into her space, putting just the right amount of intimidating into his stance, “Are you toying with us?” he finished. “Is this another plot of Hawkmoth or are you real?”

The nervousness evaporated in favor of indignation. “‘Are you real’?” she parroted, her eyebrows knitted together and an offended look on her face. “I’m not the product of some half baked psychopath’s evil plan, kitty. I’m here to help you. What else would I be?”

Ladybug put her hands on both of their chests to push them apart when Chat started to bristle, a hiss threatening to escape him. “Don’t start, you two!” she ordered. “Paonne, we aren’t accusing you of anything, we’re being cautious. We’ve been played before. Chat, back off before I  _ make _ you back off. She seems honest enough.”

They stepped back soothing ruffled feathers and raised hackles. Paonne cut him a dirty look for a moment before Ladybug snapped in from of her face.

“In case you two forgot, we have an akuma running free,” she said, instantly taking lead. “Lucky for you, I was leading us close to where Paint Slick ran.” She gestured for them to follow her to the mouth of the alley.

Chat blinked and looked out. “ENSBA,” he muttered. “I should’ve known.”

The normally austere front courtyard was covered in paint. It was also taken over by massive painted monsters; they prowled back and forth looking like wolves frankensteined together with two or three other types of beasts. There were at least five of the beasts, but Chat couldn’t see further to check for more.

“Chat, give Paonne a lift,” Ladybug murmured, keeping her eyes locked on the courtyard as she threw her yoyo up. It hooked around something up top and let her silently swing up to the roof above them. Catching her meaning, he turned and held his hand out to Paonne like the gentleman he was raised to be.

“May I-” He cut himself off when he realized she was gone. Instead of a reply, he got a small giggle from above him. The cat looked directly up and found Paonne scaling the brick walls on either side of the thin alley.

“What’s wrong, Sylvester?” she said from five feet above him. She grinned and said, “Cat got your tongue?” Before he could retort, she was hauling herself easily over the edge of the roof and leaving just the barest glimpse of her tail feathers chasing after her.

“It’s not looney toons, Tweety,” he grumbled under his breath. His staff clicked and he shot up to meet the two ladies on the roof.

Ladybug shot him a look. It was the “you took too long, Chaton” look and it was painted in faux exasperation. For someone still covered in a rainbow of paint, she managed to make it work. It was the fashion designer in her he assumed; the aura around her wouldn’t let anything look bad. “Did you take a break on the way up, Chaton?” she teased, obvious fondness in her voice.

“I had to let the ladies go first,” he said, casually polishing his claws on his chest. His cheeky grin flashed up at the aforementioned ladies, both of whom were rolling their eyes at him.

“Ever the gentleman, Chat,” LB said.

Paonne held up her finger to get their attention, rocking back on her heels. “If you two are done, I do believe there’s an akuma literally painting the town,” she commented. She crouched near the edge of the roof. At least she had enough sense to keep low and relatively out of sight, Chat Noir thought. “I dunno about you guys, but I can’t see much of anything.” He crouched next to her, Ladybug not far behind. The bird was right, too; all of the windows were covered in paint from the inside, and the painted beasts guarded every door. He watched as a particularly big one marched around the building.

“Any ideas, Chaton?” LB asked him, her eyes trained on the school across the street from them.

His eyes scanned the area trying to find an opening. A shine of something on the roof caught his attention, drawing it to-

“There’s an opening on the roof right there,” Paonne said, pointing where he was looking. “It’s a skylight, I think, but it’s just hanging open. It seems a bit fishy.”

Ladybug nodded. “For someone hellbent on covering every possible way in, it’s strange,” she added.

“A trap?” Chat offered.

“More than likely.”

Paonne bit her lip and pulled her fan from her lower back. “I may have something that can help us,” she said. Ladybug and Chat Noir looked to her expectantly. “Okay, just a warning. I haven’t tried this before so who knows what it’ll do.” She took a deep breath, held her fan out, then said, “Guiding Eye!” A teal light covered her fan in a flash, then three of the feathers on her fan floated off. They fell in a gentle, anticlimactic glide to the ground. “Uh...” She crouched down, laughing nervously as the other two heroes looked at her. “It’s supposed to be some sort of surveillance thing? Duusu just told me to say that and that I could figure out the rest...”

“Surveillance, huh...” Ladybug said. Chat looked at her and noticed she had that look on her face.

Paonne must have noticed too. “Uh, Chat Noir?” she whispered to him. “What’s she doing?”

Chat put a hand to his chin to rub his imaginary beard. “Scheming.”

“Scheming?”

“That’s what I just said, ma canard.”

She scoffed, clearly offended. “Je suis  _ un paonne _ , chaton. Pas un canard,” she retorted, literally turning her nose up at him. Obviously done with the cat, she crouched down and poked one of the feathers.

It shot up straight and fast in front of her.

“Oh,” was all she could say.

The peacock blinked several times while Ladybug and Chat Noir watched with raised eyebrows and a quirked head respectively. She waved her hand slowly in front of the feather. It stayed floating, but followed her hand’s movement. “Guys,” Paonne whispered. “I can see through the feathers.”

“You can  _ what _ -”

“Try moving more than one,” Ladybug said, holding back her own excitement. Chat’s ears pinned to his head as he gaped at Paonne tapping the other two feathers and moving them around. “Can you see through all three at the same time?”

Paonne nodded, grinning. “Hell yeah! This is so cool!” she exclaimed, still being conscious of her volume. “Lemme see how that skylight is doing,” the rookie heroine said, wiggling her fingers. All three zoomed off across the sky to where the open skylight was waiting. Chat saw her stick her tongue out slightly, biting it a bit as she did. Her face was twisted in concentration. “It’s hanging wide open,” she muttered, still moving her hands and fingers to control the feathers. “I think I can see some sort of... a cage- yeah, it’s a cage- right underneath the opening.”

“Good, good,” Ladybug encouraged. “Can you get further in?”

Paonne scoffed and shot a prideful look to Ladybug out of the corner of her eye. “Of course I can, ‘bug,” she answered confidently. “This really isn’t that hard, and they’re feathers.” She paused for a moment, obviously looking around by the way her fingers slowed significantly. “I think the akuma has people in there too,” she stated, alarmed.

“What do they look like?” Chat asked. “Paint Slick said something about someone saying her art was too colorful. Maybe it’s a teacher?”

“Perhaps some failed assignment?” Ladybug added. “It did look like she was pulling everything out of her apron when she was attacking us.”

“Or maybe it’s the glowing palette attached to her hip,” Paonne interrupted. The other two looked at her expectantly, and she flushed a bit under the attention, shuffling on her feet slightly. “A-ah well she seems to be making everything out of paint. Maybe the weapons she pulled on you were just stuff she had on her when she was akumatized? At least that what it seems like!”

Ladybug hummed. “I say we try to get the apron  _ and _ the palette, just to be safe,” she said, standing up straight. “Chaton, you’re gonna need to get in close if you can, swipe either of those if you can.” She paused. “Go for the palette first.” The lady turned to Paonne. “I need you to follow behind us. Try to stay out of sight until I call for you. They don’t know you’re here yet. Let’s keep it that way, get some surprise on our side. Push comes to shove, I’ll call on my lucky charm. You guys ready?”

Chat saluted. “Oui, milady!”

“You got it, ‘bug,” Paonne said, smiling.

Ladybug looked to the both of them, smirking. “Let’s do this.”


End file.
